Christmas Break 2013: Part 1

Hello to all... I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and are looking forward to starting 2014. It's crazy to me that Christmas has already came and gone (along with my 9 days off work). I really enjoyed being home, I didn't rest much, we were too busy having fun. However, I was happy to sleep in until 8:30 most days. Some things on my break from work included: our Christmas in Kentucky with my family, seeing my friend Renee for lunch and shopping, trips to Abingdon on Christmas eve and Christmas day, and Brinley staying with us the weekend after Christmas. I've debated on whether I would write all of our Christmas related events in to one post, or if they would all be separate, but I'm still not sure... so, I'm writing until I feel like it, or I run out of time on my lunch break :)

Elkins Family Christmas
On 12/20/13 I was happy to see 4:30 come because it was the start of my break from work. I got home, we loaded the car and headed to Pikeville. On the way, we stopped to watch Brice play basketball. He had a great game. After the game, we stopped by the hospital to visit my grandpa. Our visit was short, as he was getting medicine and was hoping for sleep. We ended the night at my parent's house and were ready for bed shortly after getting there.
On Saturday, we had Christmas with my side of the family. My parents, siblings, sister in law, husband, we were all there. We exchanged gifts to each other and it was fun. And not to be too materialistic, but I was surprised with a Silhouette Cameo! If you are a paper crafter or vinyl cutter, you may know that this wonderful machine cuts paper, vinyl, and even fabric. I had a Cricut, but it has been giving me problems so I was ecstatic to see this gift that Preston and my parents got for me. So far I've personalized Chloe's dog food bowl, made a circle monogram for my phone case, and made cut outs for my 2014 planner... let the vinyl personalization madness continue! Anyways, where was I... Saturday afternoon we watched Brice at another ball game and then went home to make some goodies. A got dinner ready and my grandpa was released from the hospital in time for some Christmas dinner. Saturday evening after visiting, we headed home.
Sunday we had out children's Christmas program at church that we have been preparing for. Preston and the kiddos have worked very hard and it was great to see them on stage and have a successful program. Since we stayed between church times to practice on Sunday, Preston and I were pretty tired after the program and ended up just relaxing at home after it was over.

Visiting Renee
On Monday, my friend Renee and I planned to meet each other in Bristol, which is about half way for both of us. It was a good meeting place, and other than our terrible service at Cheddar's (shocker, I know, Cheddar's is usually the BEST), we had a great time together. We had lunch, picked up a few last minute gifts, roamed around the mall, and then it was time to head home. Our visit wasn't very long, but any amount of time with one of my best friends is great. If you are a praying person, please pray for Renee and her husband, as they are currently on a mission trip to Greece, thanks in advance!

Well, I think that's the end of this post, sorry for the abrupt ending, but lunch break is over and I'm getting back to work. Stay tuned for part 2, coming shortly!

Christmas Goodies

I don't know about you all, but I love making Christmas goodies. This week I tried a new recipe that was for cookie bars, the recipe is here . I liked this because it made a large amount and it is really tasty! We also made dipped peanut butter crackers... mmm. Next one the list that will hopefully get made this week is some cinnamon hard candy. My mom has always always always made cinnamon candy. I remember taking huge suckers (made out of the hard candy mixture that was put in different molds to shape them) to school. I'm not sure what else I'll make this year, I'm sure there will be more. What are your favorite Christmas goodies to make? Please share!

*it looks more green than yellow in person

Christmas Tag!

I was tagged by Laurie over at Disney n Diapers for this fun Christmas tag and decided to join in on the fun!

Questions:
1.What do you love the most about Christmas time? At Christmas, I love the decorations, the music, the movies, the gift giving, spending time with family, but I love the fact that it's a time where so many people recognize our amazing Savior and his birth... happy birthday, Jesus!

2. Do you celebrate the holiday in style or is Bah-Humbug for you? Is this about clothing or is this about our way of celebrating? For clothing, it's a casual style, usually jeans and a sweater/cardigan or something like that. If you mean way we celebrate Christmas, it's usually the traditional read Jesus' birth story, open gifts, and have dinner kind of day... not really a big party.

3. Are you leaving anything out for Santa Claus this year so he remembers to leave your presents? Santa at our house has already been getting Christmas treats, so if there are some that evening, they might get put out. Of course when I was growing up, it was a must.

4. What is the one gift you are most looking forward to GIVING? {It can be to your kids, another family member, etc – remember to be discreet if they read your blog!} I have a few different gifts that I am excited to see them open, but I think Brinley will love her gift!

5. What is your all-time favorite Christmas movie? "you're the the the.... THE GRINCH!" I love The Grinch with Jim Carey, but I also really LOVE Elf!

6. What is your all-time favorite Christmas song? This year I have really loved The Heart of Christmas by Matthew West. For more traditional, I like Walking in a Winter Wonderland.

7. If given the opportunity would you participate in an “Ugly Sweater” party and what sweater would you wear? Peruse one on the internet or even in your own closet and show us!
"You go Glen Coco!"

8. Have you started any Christmas traditions this year that you plan on carrying forward? We have decided to make a big breakfast this year and I'm sure we will continue to do that... we are going to family members' houses like usual, so that's a tradition.

9. It’s Christmas morning … what does it look like outside where you live? I like it like this, pretty snow, but clear roads :)

10. You just found yourself standing under the mistletoe … who comes up to give you a kiss first? We never have mistletoe, but I'm sure Brinley would pop one on my cheek just to be goofy.

& here are the lucky bloggers I will pass this lovely tag too.
Please remember you don't have to do the tag, but you are welcome to join in on the fun :)
Tracy @ Our Little Family of 6
 Brittney @ Razorback Britt
Emily @ Your Daily Dose of the Donaldsons
Ryan @ Loved and Lovely

Five on Friday

As I sit here and eat my Smartones meal and sip my slenderize strawberry melon drink at my desk on my lunch break, I thought I'd write a post, and what better on Friday than linking up for Five on Friday... here we go!

[ONE] This week has seemed fast, yet slow at different times, if that even makes sense. Kind of like the days are long but wow, tomorrow is already Saturday. Anybody else feel this way or is it just me?

[TWO] Last night I finished watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation for the first time... that's right, I had never watched this Christmas movie and had always heard about it, so this week we watched it on Netflix. I split it between 2 evenings because the first evening I was exhausted and just couldn't finish it.

[THREE] I have really enjoyed Christmas shopping this year, especially for the girl on our angel tree, it has been so fun and I hope she loves all of her gifts. We are finishing our Christmas shopping tomorrow and I will finish wrapping everything hopefully on Sunday.

[FOUR] Speaking of our little shopping trip that we have planned for tomorrow, we are going to Hobby Lobby and it might be ridiculous how excited I am. I haven't been to one in months because we don't have one where we live so I am suuuper happy about going to get some things I've had on my list for a while. Bonus, I looked at their sale ad and everything I'm wanting is 50% off this week, woohoo!

[FIVE] I want to wish my little sister, Brinley, the best of luck for her state cheer competition tomorrow! Brin, you got it, stay tight, no frog legs, and use those facials, I looove youuuu!!

This or That Link Up

Link ups are fun and I like them, especially when I'm not so sure what to write about during my average midway through the work week day like I'm having today. So, here is a link up about winter... join in on the fun!

Fashionable Snow Boots or Practical Snow Boots?

Fashionable Snow Boots
I wouldn't really classify them as rubber get in the snow boots, but I love my Ugg boots that keep me warm in the cold weather, so I'm leaning towards fashionable boots. Some, not all, practical boots are pretty ugly.

Hat or Ear Muffs?

Hat or Ear warmer
Ear muffs look goofy. I love different tobogans, especially when I have a matching scarf and gloves to go with it. This year I have a new love for crocheted ear warmers. I've bought two, and I'm wanting to learn to do them myself!

Snowed In or Playing Out In The Snow?

Snowed In
I like getting out in the snow if I'm bundled up and with others, but especially if it's just me, I love a good movie, a blanket, and a cup of hot chocolate with my Chloe dog on my lap.

Sledding or Snow Tubing?

Snow Tubing
I have only been sledding and have always wanted to tube, so although I haven't actually done it, I'm going to say tubing.

Almost Winter or Winter’s Almost Over?

Both- I can't pick this or that.
While I really love bringing out the boots and coats and enjoying all of the wonderful holidays as winter comes, I also really love when winter is almost over because I know that spring is coming... with lots of new flowers that I love!

Join in on the link up!

Weekend at Home

Well, Monday has struck again... here's to hoping it's not too bad and Friday comes quickly. Anyways, this past week has been crazy at work trying to get everything done since I have the whole week of Christmas off, woohooo! I'm so excited to have a nice break from work, but it makes the weeks before then pretty hectic! Needless to say, after having a busy week, it was nice to have a weekend at home without many plans.
Friday evening we were planning on taking our youth group from church to Bristol to see the speedway in lights. It always looks amazing, but due to the weather, the trip was postponed. I must say, I was glad though because Thursday evening and Friday I wasn't feeling the greatest and had thought about staying home anyways. Friday evening around 9 I started feeling better... I decided to clean and Preston pitched in, like he usually does, which was nice. I used my new steam mop that I got on black friday for the first time and I love it! I love that it cleans and sanitizes without any chemicals. After cleaning we didn't feel like cooking, so we had a late Taco Bell dinner. We tried the cinnabon delights, oh.my.gosh. These are little pockets of heaven... SO good.

Saturday we slept in, which was awesome. As I was getting ready for the day, I had a mini panic... I had showered, blow dried my hair and was sectioning off my hair to straighten it when I noticed a problem. One of the diamond earrings that Preston gave me from our 2nd Christmas together was gone. That's right, it was gone. I went back to where I dried my hair to look and found the back on Chloe's stairs that lead to our bed. I searched in the bed, under it, on the floor, couldn't find it. I was for sure that it probably went down the drain when I washed my hair. I was upset, but tried to remember that it was a material object, an earring, but it had a special meaning to it. Then, while Preston was taking Chloe outside, he noticed that my bulbs that are not supposed to sprout until Spring had started coming up. I believe I have the 70 degree and rain weather this week to blame for that. We went on with our day, I saw my brother and sister in law for a bit, and we got groceries for me to cook dinner. But, we opted to go to a restaurant I love that has the BEST spinach dip. I don't normally like spinach dip, but I like this one. After getting home from dinner we finished watching The Office on netflix... we ended the night with the season 9 finale. That's it. The end. No more office... sad!! After that, Preston searched under the bed again and he found my earring!!! I was so happy! I put new backs on both of my earrings and am so thankful that he found it!

Sunday we went to church like usual. Then we came home and we made the meal I had planned on making the night before. We made a broccoli chicken braid that was so good! After lunch it was nap time. With the cold rainy day, it was perfect. I love a good Sunday nap! We headed to church again in the evening and then made a quick trip to Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, the rain, cold, and me being out didn't mix well, I've now got a runny nose and cannot quit sneezing, booo! I'm hoping it passes quickly, I've got too much to do to be sick with a cold! I also don't need a cold to drain what energy I do have. Also on Sunday, we wrapped more Christmas gifts and then just had a peaceful night.

Even though our weekend had a mini panic and I got sick, it was the weekend none the less.... already looking forward to the next one, especially since Preston and I have a day planned for Saturday that will be spent shopping and enjoying dinner at one of our fav restaurants!

Thanksgiving weekend continued/Christmas decorations

Happy Wednesday! Woohoo for half way to Friday! I am picking up where I left off with my last post and telling about the rest of our Thanksgiving break weekend.
On Saturday, we enjoyed sleeping in a while, it was SO nice! Our friends were going out of town and we were keeping their teenage daughters for the weekend, they came to our house around noon and that's when our Saturday fun began. I knew I wanted to decorate... and decorate we did! The past couple of years, Preston and I have only had space for a small tree since our town house did not have a lot of extra room for a large tree. Last year on Black Friday, we went to home depot and snagged up one of the artificial Christmas trees that are pre lit and can be either white or color lights. I was excited to purchase the 7.5 foot tree, but wasn't able to use it last year... so that was the first box of our Christmas "stuff" that I opened. This tree sits in our living room, right in front of our big window (which I love). The tree was incredibly easy to put together, much easier than other trees I have seen. Last year after Christmas I was also about to get a good deal on LED lights the day after Christmas, which was the perfect amount for our new tree. We debated for a while whether we wanted color or white lights on our big tree. The ornaments on this tree don't have a theme, it's more of a random tree with different ornaments that we've collected. This tree reminds me of the big Christmas tree my family had when I was younger, big, colorful, and full of random ornaments. While some people may think color lights are tacky, that's what we chose and I am glad we did! Our other two trees have white lights so the colors just make this tree fun! In our entry way, we have a tree as soon as you come in our front door. This is a new to us tree that Preston got at a church auction for just $15. We didn't have everything we needed for this tree, so the girls and I headed to Wal-mart to get a few things while Preston got the tree put together. This tree is quirky and a tad girly, but we thought it turned out really cute, especially Gabby (who helped me decorate everything). I love the bright colors it has. In our kitchen is where our 3rd and final tree is. This tree is small and is in a corner of the kitchen. It has a set of white lights, as well as a strand of s'more snowmen lights. Have you seen the s'more snowmen? I had got a nightlight that I thought was so cute and Preston's Nana happened to have a set of lights that were Preston's moms that were not used that matched it perfectly. These lights are special, which makes this little tree special. Right now there is only one ornament, a little skiing s'more snowman. While it may look funny with only one ornament, we are looking forward to collecting S'mores ornaments over the years and having this tree as our special little s'mores tree. After hours of decorating, we had some pizza for dinner and called it a night.
On Sunday, we went to church and then went to the theater to watch "Catching Fire". Whew, I don't do suspenseful movies and this was about all I could handle! It was a good movie and then we had church in the evening. We cooked spaghetti for dinner at home and watched another movie, this time, "Pitch Perfect".... crushed it [anybody recognize that line?]. We had a great weekend having the Bostic girls and their dog, Cujo, staying with us.
Now, a dump of pictures of a small glimpse of our decorations...

Need to put our wrapped presents under there!

Entry way tree that still needs a tree skirt

Our little S'mores tree

Aren't they too cute?

Because I was feeling festive... glitter finger nails :)

Thanksgiving, my birthday, and Black Friday

I don't know about you all... but the break from work last week was much needed and SO nice, especially since my break started a day earlier than expected. You see, Wednesday I was supposed to work half a day, however when I woke up and picked my phone to turn off an alarm I noticed a text message from my company. The first message said we were on a 2 hour delay due to snow... then another message followed saying that we were closed for the day! It was a great day off, especially since I saw the closing message before getting ready for the day. I used to hate when I would get up early, get ready, and then find out I was on a delay or no school... anyone know the feeling I'm talking about? Anyways, I decided to sleep a little, make some breakfast, and then took the afternoon easy, it was so nice! Then, Preston and I cleaned our house so that it would be ready for Christmas decorating after Thanksgiving. I used to have a routine on Saturdays of cleaning, but now I usually do it throughout the week. After some cleaning, I got in a work out at Curves, then came home to shower and get ready for the Thanksgiving service at church. After the great service, we had dinner at El Sombrero with some friends. The waiters found out it was my birthday the next day, so I was the lucky lady in the Mexican restaurant dancing with a huge sombrero on my head while everyone sang to me. So, my break really got started with a great Wednesday off.

Thursday-Thanksgiving Day
Preston and I got up early and headed to KY to have Thanksgiving with my family. We got there early to help cook and get everything ready for Thanksgiving at Grandmama and Popaw's house. After spending time preparing things at my parents' house, we drove to my grandparents where tons of my cousins, aunts, and uncles were with my grandparents. There are so many of us! We had a late lunch Thanksgiving meal. My family usually has our meal mid afternoon. I was given a birthday cake and was sang to, again! Thanksgiving was my actual birthday... the big 2-4. After eating and chatting a while, my mom, sister, and I hit the road for Huntington to start shopping. Black Friday is a tradition my mom and I have done together every year since I was in the 7th grade. Last year was Brinley's (my sister)first year at it. We didn't have any really hot items to get this year... but there were a couple of things we had in mind. Our first stop was Wal-mart and when we got there... we had a problem. My mom took her Civic, as it has a trunk that closes instead of a hatch that you can see inside of. For some reason, the trunk would NOT open. Not with the key, not with the lever, nothing. It was stuck, and stuck good. How in the world were three of us going to fit all of our shopping bags into a civic? We went on in Wal-mart and got a few things, including a set of Rachael Ray cookware that my mom and I wanted, we were happy that we were both able to get a set... such a great deal! Our back seat began to fill quickly, though. We headed to Target where I got my new steam mop I had been wanting and a few other things.... and the back seat continued to cramp, poor Brinley. Kohl's was our next destination. Usually we wait forrrreevvver in Kohl's... but this year, mom stood in line while I shopped, and then we switched places. We were in and out of the store in 45 minutes, not bad! We loaded our stuff in the car and went to the mall. We hit up several different stores and ended our shopping at Old Navy. I had some ON cash to use, so I was able to get tons of stuff. I love Old Navy jeans, so I got me a regular pair, a skinny pair, Preston a pair, and a pair for our angel tree child for Christmas. I got us some tops too...I just love ON! We had no room left in the car, literally. Brinley got in and got buckled and we piled it on top of her, then I got in and it was the same for me. We all cracked up and Brinley must not have mind too much because she was asleep within minutes of leaving the mall. We got home from our shopping trip about 5:30am. We unloaded our stuff and crashed for a few hours.

Can you see her eyes in there??

Friday I slept a while, recovering from the shopping madness the night before. Then my mom and I made some letters for my office door (post with a pic coming soon). After sorting through our bags and loading my car, I made another visit to my grandparents. After seeing them for a while, I got back on the road and was at home in an hour. I am thankful that I live close enough to my family to make a quick trip whenever I want. In fact, Brinley has a cheer competition this Wednesday and I am going to watch after work... I love that! After getting home, Preston and went to dinner and then I wrapped Christmas presents.
Well, that's about half of my break... come back to read about the rest of our weekend, you know you'll want to... we decorated for Christmas!!